Bulgaria all-time 23 member Team

Bulgaria qualified for four straight World Cup Finals between 1962 and 1974, but they left no impression. Finally, the birth of the Golden Generation in 1990's gave rise of the Bulgarian football. In November, 1993, Bulgaria won probably their most important match in history. They pulled a dramatic upset of France at the last match of the World Cup Qualifying rounds by scoring the winning goal at the dying minutes of the match. They leapfrogged France and qualified for USA 1994. At the World Cup Finals, they came from behind to beat defending champion Germany 2-1 in the quarterfinal. They went on to finish 4th.

Team GK: Georgi NaydenovHe is considered the greatest Bulgarian goalkeeper for all time. Between 1955 and 1965 he played in 176 matches for CSKA Sofia. He was honoured as Bulgarian Footballer of the Year in 1961

GK: Borislav MikhailovHe was captain of the Bulgaria national team during their surprising fourth-place run at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, as well their participation in Euro 96. He also played at the 1986 FIFA World Cup and is currently the second most capped player for the Bulgaria national team with 102 caps (60 as captain),

GK: Apostol Sokolov He was Lev Yashin's idol. He was capped 15 times for Bulgaria during the 1950's. He is the father of Georgi Sokolov.

RB: Aleksandar ShalamanovHe earned 42 caps for the Bulgarian national team, with which he participated in the World Cup 1966 and World Cup 1970. He has participated in the Winter Olympics as alpine skier in 1960. He was a reserve player for Bulgaria's volleyball team in 1964.

CB: Manol Manolov He played 57 games for Bulgaria and won a bronze medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics. He was Bulgarian Footballer of the Year in 1958.CB: Dimitar PenevHe is regarded as one of his country's best ever defenders, winning
Bulgarian footballer of the year in 1967 and 1971, he also participated
in 3 world cups for his country in 1966, 1970 and 1974. He spent most of his career with CSKA Sofia.

Dimitar Penev

CB: Ivan DimitrovHe played 340 matches in the first League during his career, 70 matches for the Bulgarian national team. He represented Bulgaria in the 1962 and 1970 FIFA World Cups. He also played for PFC Lokomotiv Sofia and PFC Akademik Sofia. He was a tall, solid center-back.

CB: Kiril IvkovHe spent most of his career with Levski Sofia. He was capped 44 times and played in the WC Finals in 1974.

LB: Boris GaganelovHe made 51 appearances for the Bulgaria. He represented Bulgaria at the FIFA World Cups in 1966 and 1970. With CSKA he won Bulgarian league 7 times and Bulgarian Cup 6 times.

LB: Trifon Ivanov Nicknamed "the Wolf". He was a member of Bulgaria's Golden Generation that rearched the semi-final of World Cup 1994. He was capped 76 times. He played for Real Betis, Etar, CSKA, Neuchâtel Xamax, Rapid Wien, etc.

Ivanov

LM/CM/AM: Yordan LetchkovPerhaps best remembered for scoring the winning goal against Germany in the quarter-final at World Cup 1994. He also played at Euro 1996. He played for CSKA Sofia, Hamburger SV, Olympique de Marseille and Beşiktaş.

He was most prominently played professionally for British clubs Celtic and Aston Villa. At Celtic, he became the first foreign player to win the SPFA Young Player of the Year award. At Aston Villa, he was Players' Player of the Year: 2009, 2012. He was also Bulgaria Player of the Year in 2003.

Stiliyan Petrov(R) with Dimitar Berbatov

RW: Hristo BonevBetween 1967 and 1979, Bonev played for the Bulgarian national team 96 times, scoring a record 48 goals. He played for his country at the 1970 and 1974 World Cups. Most of Bonev's club career was spent with Lokomotiv Plovdiv, but he also played for CSKA Sofia and AEK Athens FC. One of the greatest Bulgarian footballers, Bonev was renowned for his vision and technique.RW/CM/SS: Ivan Petkov KolevConsidered to be one of the best ever Bulgarian player. He was capped 75 matches with 25 goals. He represented Bulgaria at both the 1962 FIFA World Cup and the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He won a bronze medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics. He was the first Bulgarian to be nominated for Ballon d'Or.LW: Martin PetrovHe was the 2006 Bulgarian Footballer of the Year. He was capped 90 times for Bulgaria, playing at Euro 2004. He was with CSKA Sofia when he moved to Switzerland. He went on to play in the Bundesliga, La Liga and the Premiership.

LW: Dimitar YakimovNicknamed "the poet of football" for his dribbling skills. He was a star in the 1960's. He went to three WC Finals: 1962, 1966 and 1970. He was with CSKA Sofia.AM: Krassimir Balakov One of the star player from the Golden Generation of the 1990's. He made 92 appearances for Bulgaria, between 1988 and 2003. He was best remembered for forming a successful attacking partnership with strikers Fredi Bobic and Giovane Élber at Stuttgart. He also had a successful spell with Sporting CP.

He is a legend at Levski Sofia in the 1980's. He was the Buglarian league top scorer four times. He played in the WC Finals: 1986 and 1994.

ST: Georgi Asparukhov He is considered to be among the top Bulgarian footballers of all time. He was voted the best Bulgarian footballer of the 20th Century, ahead of Hristo Stoichkov. He played for Levski Sofia from 1960 to 1961 and 1964 to 1971, and for Botev Plovdiv from 1961 to 1963. ST: Emil KostadinovHe is best remembered for scoring two goals against France in the World Cup Qualfying match that helped Bulgaria to qualify for the WC in 1994. He was capped 70 times. Professionally, his best stint was with Porto where he spent 4 seasons.

Emil Kostadinov

ST: Dimitar Berbatov He is its all-time leading goalscorer for Bulgaria. He has also won the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year a record seven times, surpassing the number of wins by Hristo Stoichkov. His best seasons were spent with Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester United.

ST/FW: Hristo StoichkovHe is Bulgaria's greatest player. At the 1994 World Cup, Stoichkov was awarded the Golden Boot as the joint top goal scorer of the tournament with six goals, as well as earning the Bronze Ball award. . At Barcelona he was part of Johan Cruyff's "dream team" that won four consecutive La Liga titles and one UEFA Champions League. He also won the Ballon d'Or in 1994.

Stoichkov

Honorable Mention Lyuboslav Penev,Nikolay Ilie, Dobromir Zhechev,

Squad ExplanationMost of the players came from the Golden Generation in the 1990's.